Process of increasing the sensitiveness and power of explosive compositions and product thereof



Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

TENT 10* QE.

WILLIAM M. DEHN, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

PROCESS OF INCREASING THE SENSITIVENESS AND POWER OF EXPLOSIVE COMPOSI-TIONS LAND PRODUCT THEREOF.

.No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that I, WILLIAM M. DEHN. a citizen of the United States,residing in Seattle, county of King, and State of Washingtomhaveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Increasingthe Sensitiveness and Power of Explosive Compositions and Product Thereof, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto the use of diazodinitrophenol 1, (S-dinitro-Q-diazophenol) as an explosive and as an ingredient inexplosive compositions.

Diazodinitrophenol, the preparation of which by Peter Griess isindicated in the Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, 113,201; 120,126, andan improved method of manufacture whereof is disclosed by myapplication, Serial No. 343,592, filed Dec. 9, 1919, has been found bytests I have made to be highly suitable as an explosive substance and asan ingredient of explosive compositions.

Though known by Griess and others that diazodinitrophenol has explosiveproperties, their experiments did not reveal the fact that it possessesexceptional explosive properties, so that it has not hitherto beenintroduced into the explosive art,

Diazodinitrophenol being a diazo compound, it has apparently beenassumed that it does not possess suflioient stability for commercial useas an explosive.

Such assumption is not well founded. Though detonated by spark or bypercussion, diazodinitrophenol possesses sufiicient stability to insureits safe manufacture, storage, and use an an explosive. urthermore,I-have found that its stability can be Varied to any practical degree bymixing it either with active bases or with water and other materials.

The formula assigned to diazodinitrophenol is:

Though possessing the vdiazo structure, it may be observed that thecompound possesses an exceptional diazo structure, hence possessesexceptional properties as compared with other diazo compoun s.

That the compound has been studied only Application filed August 20,1920. Serial No. 4045 51.

slightlyis apparent from a view of the following description of its proerties, heretofore regarded as com lete. n iazodinitrophenol consists ofbright yellow leaflets, slightly soluble in water, ether, benzene, andalcohol. It is very soluble in acetic acid, possesses little taste andtinctorial power and is stable is decomposed by hot concentratedsulphuric acid, and by cold solutions of alkalies. It explodes violentlywhen heated. Its percentage of nitrogen is 26.68. (This is a highervalue than that of the respective other organic nitro compoundsheretofore employed in the manufacture of ex losive com ositions.)

I have discovered the followin additional properties. Diazodinitrophenodissolves without decomposition in warm nitrobenzone and in acetone. Itcrystallizes as yellow transparent rectangular plates from coolednitrobenzene solutions, or from acetone solutions treated with ether orwith hydrocarbon oils. It darkens in direct sunlight but is stable indiffused 1i ht. It is decomposed by many organic so vents. It melts andexplodes violently above 150C. It possesses little or no noxiousproperties, hence difl'ers from most organic compounds used in theexplosive art.

I hav e found that diazodinitrophenol can be stored under water at roomtemperatures for months without change of color and without loss ofsensitiveness to explode.

Furthermore, I have found that when finely divided and wet with water itcannot be exploded by a N0. 8 detonating cap. Thus its practicalstability in handlin is demonstrated. On the other hand I ave foundthat. diazodinitrophenol, when pure and dry, can be detonated by fuse,by spark, by percussion, or by friction. It can be subjected to greatpressure without explodin and all compressed samples can be exploded inthe different ways just mentioned. I have found that diazodinitrophenolis less sensitive to shock and to friction than the fulminates and thatit possesses substantially 25 to 50% more power of demolition thanmercury fulminate.

Its sensitiveness to combustion and to explosion, its great power ofdemolition, and its capacity in mixtures to increase the explosibilityand brisance of the charge are its exceptional and valuable propertiesas an explosive.

in cold mineral acids. It,

Detonating explosives themselves are comparatively rare. Detonatinexplosives, which on the one hand possessliigh power of demolition andon the other hand are inexpensive and are free from metals arepractically unknown. Diazodinitrophenol answers to these qualification.Such an explosive can, therefore,. be used not only as an initiator ofexplosions but also as a bursting charge. Furthermore it can be mixedwith a great variety of explosive materlals and can impart to suchcompositions greater sensitiveness and power of explosion. Thisproperty, to vivify and to impart brisance to common explosives, is amost valuable property of diazodinitrophenol. Especially when-it is inthe crystalline form and is mixed with the explosive material,withoutfusing, does it function in the manner described.

I have found that. diazodinitrophenol in explosive compositions does'not impart greater .power merely by adding its own power to that of'theother components of the charge, but by its capacity, as a relay ofdetonation, to sustain the explosive wave. For example, with 1g. chargesconsisting of ammonium nitrate with the indicated percentages ofdiazodinitrophenol and exploded by No. 6 caps, the following values wereob tained in the sand bomb:

Without the use of. diazodinitrophenol in sufficient concentration, theexplosion of ammonium nitrate falls ofi, owing to loss of heat and owingto unfavorable conditions of moisture, density, confinement and size ofcrystals. With the powerful detonator diazodinitrophenol, however, theexplosive wave is focally and progressively sustained, so that, forexample, in the case of ammonium nitrate, with 1% of diazodinitrophe n01an increase of 260% in effective power is obtained as compared withammonium nitrate alone.

A -further. great advantage of diazodinitrophenolis its capacity inexplosive compositions containin oxidants to utilize oxygen and thus toad to its own power. This becomes obvious in the following equations:

This property may be illustrated with any the two have substantial] ofthe oxidizing salts used in explosive comexplosives, as indicated inthisspecification,

o with the combustibles, such as wood pulp or parafline, or with theinert materials used in explosive compositions, the sensitiveness toexplode can be increased'.as desired, or may be held to any practicalintermediate degree.

When mixed with infusorial earth, or with wood pulp, or withhydrocarbons, dynamites of varying lesser degrees of sensitiveness' andpower can be produced. Such dyna mites, containing combustiblecarboneous material, can advantageously be mixed with active bases suchas the nitrates or with nitro explosives, and thus ordinary dynamitescontaining small percentages of diazodinitrophenol can have increasedbrisance imparted thereto. a

' \Vhereas only mixtures with picric acid, trinitrotoluene, ammoniumnitrate, and nitrocellulose are described in detail in thisspecification, I have found that diazodinitrophenol mixes as readilywith the other common explosives, such as nitroglycerine, tet ryl, thenitrobenzenes,, and the nitronaph thalenes, and it imparts some ofitscharacteristic properties to each of the same.

The properties referred to above make diazodinitrophenol highl suitablefor use as an explosive substance by itself or in combinations withother compounds. It may be used, for example, as a filling for bombs,grenades, torpedoes, mines, and shells, as well as for the manufactureof primers and detonators, and also for all purposes for which explosivesubstances are used.

I have found that diazodinitrophenol alone, picric acid alone, and allmixtures of the same power of demolition. All mixt res of these twocompounds, however, possess greatersensitiveness to explode than icricacid alone.

I have found that picric acid and diazodinitrophenol, whose meltingpoints are 122 and above 150 respectively, can be melted in hotwaterwhen their percentages are within certain limits. For example,equal weights of ,t-he two substances melt under water yielding aproduct whose specific gravsequently dried. Since all mixtures of the,

two components possess substantially equal strength but greatersensitiveness to explode than picric acid alone, such mixtures are veryuseful in the art ofexplosives.

I have found that contact of certain percentages of picric acid anddiazodinitrophenol with acetone, ethyl acetate, or with other solventsyields products, which when freed from the solvent, melt below 100.

\ This method of plasticising their mixtures is also very useful in theart of explosives. Since all, such mixtures possess greater brisancethan picric acid alone, diazodinitrophenol provides a vivifyingingredient of all such mixtures, and any desired quickened combustionand brisance, within the limits of brisance of the two components, canbe imparted to their mixtures.

I have found .that diazodinitrophenol dissolves in trinitrotoluene whenthe latter is present in excess of 70% and the mixtures are heated at100. either alone or under water. -The fused mixtures can either bepoured into containers or can be poured into water in a thin stream,thus yielding a fine powder. This powder can also be obtained safely,after cooling the melt, by grinding under Water. When dried this powderis useful as a booster charge and as an ingredient of other explosivecompositions. This property can be availed of to great advantage sincetrinitrotoluene alone is often too insensitive toward detonatingcharges. Substantially any desired sensitiveness to explode can beobtained by blending trinitrotoluene with diazodinitrophenol.Furthermore all such mixtures possess greater strength thantrinitrotoluene itself.

I have found that diazodinitrophenol and nitrocellulose can be blendedby the solvent effects of acetone and by other organic solvents andthat, when freed from such solvents, the mixtures are more or lessplastic, yellow, colloidal masses possessing greater sensitiveness andpower than the nitrocellulose alone. These mixtures are useful in theart ofv explosives.

l have found, as indicated above, that diazodinitrophenol canadvantageously be mixed with ammonium nitrate to form powders which canbe used for a variety of purposes, since they are smokeless and powerfuland can be made to detonate. Then the percentages of diazodinitrophenolin these powders is substantially less than 50%, oxygen available forcombustibles or for nitro ex 'Diazodinitro- Materials. A B C D E F G H IJ K phenol. 5 5 5 5 Ammonium nitrate Trinitrotoluene Dinitroben zenePicric acid....

R e 1 a t i v e ower Power without DDP. increased with DDP.. 25 9 Itwill be observed that in general percentages of increase of power aregreater that the percentages of diazodinitrophenol used; and further,these mixtures containing diazodinitrophenol are more easily ignited andexploded byimpact than the corresponding compositions without thediazodinitrophenol.

My process, involving as it does a powerful distributive booster charge,reveals further advantages in that it admits of compression to greaterdensities, it admits of the resence of greater percentages ofadventltious water or other inert material, it overcomes deficiencies inconfinement, and it dispenses with special contrivances for ordinarybooster charges.

I claim:

1. The process of increasing the sensitiveness and power of explosivecompositions which comprises mixing diazodinitrophenol and otherexplosive matter under water and subsequently drying, substantially asdescribed. I

2. The process of increasing the sensitiveness and power of explosivecompositionsdiazodinitrophenol moistened with water to render it safeduring incorporation therewith.

5. The process of increasing the sensitiveness and power of explosivecompositions which comprises incorporating with said explosive materiala lesser proportion of diazo- I dinitrophenol in the presence of waterand subsequently freeing the mixture from water, substantially asdescribed.

6. An explosive .material com rising diazodinitrophenol together with ater explosive material.

7. An explosive comprisin 'diazodinitrophenol together with ammoniumnitrate.

8. An explosive comprising diazodinitro- "phenol together with otherexplosive material and inert material.

9. An explosive comprising diazodinitrophenoltogether with ammoniumnitrate and inert material.

10. An explosive comprising diazodinitrophenol together With otherexplosive material and oxidantmaterial.

11. An explosive comprising diazodinitrophenol together with otherexplosive material, oxidant material, and inert material.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name hereto.

WILLIAM M. DEHN.

